Parksville firefighters reconvene after conducting a search of a Valley Cedar building on Herring Gull Way Thursday morning (Jan. 18) in an attempt to locate the source of a strong smell of natural gas that caused the evacuation of two buildings. — Adam Kveton Photo

Workers evacuated due to gas smell in Parksville

Workers at Parksville’s public works building and at Valley Cedar in the industrial park were evacuated Thursday morning due to a “really bad smell of natural gas.”

Tyrone Heigh, assistant fire chief for Parksville, said fire crews searched both buildings located on Herring Gull Way along with FortisBC but were unable to locate where the smell was coming from. Crews responded to a call about the gas smell at around 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 18.

“We went through and double-checked to make sure everything was fine,” said Heigh. “It was, thankfully.”

The buildings were ventilated and, after the smell dissapated, workers went back to work, Heigh said.